Fire defeats its nemesis, and advances in MLS playoffs

Maybe it really is a year for change.

The Chicago Fire finally found a way to defeat the New England Revolution in a playoff game, defying the teams' postseason history with a 3-0 win Thursday night at Toyota Park to advance to next Thursday's Eastern Conference championship game.

The Fire will meet the winner of Saturday's match between top-seeded Columbus and Kansas City. The Fire will host the match if Kansas City advances.

After defeating the Fire, New England had appeared in the past three MLS Cups, losing all three.

"Three years in a row they've knocked (us) out of the playoffs, and to move on past them is just an unbelievable feeling," said midfielder Chris Rolfe.

With leading scorers Taylor Twellman and Steve Ralston benched by injuries, the last thing the Revolution wanted to do was play catch-up. But the Fire made the Revs do that for the second half, scoring just before the break.

"I think that goal right before half was the most important play of the game tonight," said Fire coach Denis Hamlett.

Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis dove to his left to get a fist to Cuauhtemoc Blanco's blast from just outside the penalty area. The rebound bounced wide to Rolfe, who slotted home a left-footed shot from just outside the 6-yard box before Reis could get off the ground.

It got worse for the Revs just after halftime. A Justin Mapp free kick from Reis' right found defender Wilman Conde crashing the goal, keeping Reis on his line. Conde's header gave the Fire a 2-0 lead in the 49th minute.

"We worked on that set piece about two or three days this week. It was a great ball by Justin, a great run by Wilman," Hamlett said. "He attacked the ball, and a great finish."

Defender Gonzalo Segares' 74th-minute goal off a Chris Rolfe assist put the game away.

And after struggling the final month of the regular season, the defense has two straight shutouts.

"Our guys are defending with honor," Hamlett said. "It starts with our guys up front with Brian (McBride) and Cuauhtemoc, and it works all the way down. When we defend as a group and we make it hard for other teams, we know we're going to get chances on the other side because of the attacking guys we have."